Lets Call The Whole Thing Off
by A.Single.Gal
Summary: Pre-JWFK. Owen and Claire agree to get on the van and embark on a road trip. From the moment they take off, it's clear this won't end on a happy note, but will they? Can two stubborn and different people like them make it work? Is love enough? {You can find the complete fic on Archive of Our Own}
1. Chapter 1

Intense, that's what Claire and Owen were. The passion was as powerful as the fighting. He loved her from his gut, and her love for him was life-crushing. They would do anything for the other. They would give their life for one another. But, there would also be times when they wanted to strangle each other.

They were compatibly incompatible; if that made sense. Making it work took a lot of effort, from both ends, and for almost three years they made it work. They were a great team. They complemented each other's strengths and weaknesses. They were complexed individuals; complex and complicated are usually mistaken for being the same thing. They are not.

There were days when it would get ugly. His carefree spirt would clash with her system and a blackout would happen. Or her need to keep everything tidy and under control would overflow his patience.

It would be interesting to lock them in a room for twenty-four hours for every time a fight broke loose; study their behavior. Would they make it out in a plastic bag or would they survive after having worked their differences?

Unfortunately, no one was around to monitor this. To sit them down and demand they deal with each other; that they won't leave until they realize that for one, they were fighting over something meaningless. And two, if they were paying close attention to the problem ...they would realize the solution to it was simple and didn't require for them to blow everything out of proportion. This, or just kill each other for once and for all and put an end to it.

Blowing everything out of proportion was something they both had in common.

She would dismiss him, making him feel inferior in a way — she was the bright mind. She was the smart one, she was on top of the food chain and he had to sit there and swallow it. For an Alpha like Owen, this made him lose it. He would explode in a minute, specially because she knew he was as smart as she was.

On the other hand, he would use sarcasm on her. He would make fun of her. He would dismiss her not intellectually but emotionally.

That part where they reinforced their weaknesses was a double-edged sword. It was their rise and fall.

The first year had been the hardest, not only because they were dealing with the aftermath of the Indominus Rex fiasco, but because they had to start a life from scratch and work to rebuild it together. This was like putting together a Lego house. It required team work and lots of patience.

They came to notice that as their lives were starting to settle, it became easier for them to make their relationship work. At first, the attraction and admiration they felt for one another was enough to pull through.

By the two year mark, they were comfortable enough and thought they knew what they wanted and had managed to work around their differences. It was like a Tetris game where they had to think fast and see where their pieces fit in the other's life. So far; they were winning the game. Every time they noticed unfinished lines starting to suffocate them, they would team up and clean the screen down.

This until Owen decided to plan a road trip for them; destination to wherever life took them.

"And how am I supposed to plan our itinerary if we are not heading anywhere in specific?" She asked while nibbling on the tap of the orange pen she had in her hands.

Claire was leaning against his naked chest, he had his arm around her shoulders, his fingers playing with the ends of her long red hair.

They were in bed, under the covers. A casual conversation before bedtime had ended with them agreeing on getting in his van and just take a long road trip.

Claire had immediately grabbed her personal organizer and color pen set. This made Owen rolled his eyes. You'd think that after dating her for almost three years, he'd be used to this.

"May I?" He asked, so he could show her how to plan it out.

Claire handed him the little notebook and the pen, her green eyes fixed on his hand, which was now grabbing the notebook. His other hand still around her shoulder as he wrote,

"No plan, that's the plan." He closed the notebook and set it by his other side.

"But—-" Claire leaned over trying to grab it.

"Nah-ah-ah..." He sang while stopping her half way.

He then used his secret weapon, and kissed her gently to let her mind get distracted from the whole thing.

It worked all the time.

She slowly kissed him back. Their lips gently tasting each other for a few seconds while he leaned her back against her pillows. Claire let her one hand slid around his neck, and offered him a soft moan upon deepening the kiss.

"But—-" She broke the kiss to protest.

"Babe, trust me. I got this." He insisted before letting his lips brush down to her neck.

* * *

The next morning, Owen took care of loading the van. He didn't have bookings of any sort. They could always spend the nights in his van. He loved that van to death. He could move into that van and spend the rest of his days driving and seeing where those endless roads took him.

This wouldn't be a first time experience for Claire, either. After dating the man for almost three years, she had done all sorts of things with him in the bed at the back of his van. Owen wasn't concern about her reaction to the accommodations.

Once the van was loaded, he honked for her to come out.

"C'mon, we are running late!" He honked a few more times.

"How can we be late if we don't have a schedule?" She wondered while walking over.

She was wearing a pair of bottom folded jeans, a lace strapless top, and a blazer. A pair of high heels clicked against the pavement as she approached him.

She had her green eyes behind a pair of sun glasses. Her purse hanging from one arm, her sunscreen lotion and her personal organizer were poking out from it as well as a bottle of water and of course her color pen set.

"I'm ready." She smiled over and kissed him gently.

"Good, bend over~" He offered a cheeky smile, unable to contain himself and check her out from head to toes.

"You are an asshole." She rolled her eyes and walked around the van so she could get into the passenger's seat.

He nodded proudly. That proud nod men do when they know their woman is hot. He opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. The two of them buckled up their seatbelts and he started the van.

Claire took her little notebook out from her purse and opened it, "so if we drive east for four hours, we could make it out of town and into this cute little diner. They also have a gas station in case we need to fill the van." She explained while going through the page.

"What's that?" He eyed over. She had the whole day planned out. "Claire, c'mon. At what time did you pull this shit off?" He chuckled. "Unbelievable."

"While you were loading the van and refused to let me help." She grinned.

"Jesus."

"Next time, try keep me distracted." She shrugged and reached over to the radio. She scanned for a music station he would like and then worked on getting some sunscreen on her. She sun burnt fast, if she wasn't careful, she'd end up looking like a lobster only after minutes.

Owen turned west and started to drive off. That would show her for getting sneaky and doing that ridiculous itinerary thing.

Or would it?

Claire gave him a look when he took the opposite route; which she knew he did on purpose.

However, she didn't say anything. At least not yet. Instead she poured some of her sunscreen lotion in her hands and made sure she rubbed every inch of his skin from waist up.

It annoyed him when she did that. He was convinced he didn't need sunscreen, specially not one that smelled like peach — a scent he found captivating in her, and didn't mind when it ended impregnated on him... through her, and this was not the same.

He didn't say anything, though. He was quiet, his eyes on the road while he willingly helped her cover him with the lotion. He'd switch hands on the wheel. He'd leaned forward while she kneeled down and rubbed it on his back. He'd raise his arm up so she could work on his chest.

This was the coordination they had mastered in their relationship. They both cooperated in something; he'd wear that stupid lotion because it made her happy and it wouldn't kill him.

She'd let him pick the music, even if in thirty minutes she'd end up with a headache. But it made him happy to have his tunes and she secretly loved watching him sing along and even put on a mini show as he drove.

But it was minuscule things like these what made them fight. They would fight without realizing they both wanted the same thing; just done differently.

"I don't see why you couldn't just head east." She said after a while, looking out the window.

She knew Owen was more than capable to give her those little things. The strong scent to peach on his skin was exhibit A. It upset her that he deliberately headed the opposite direction; just to mess with her.

"What difference does it make?" He chuckled, sensing she was taking this personal.

"We are not going anywhere, so you tell me what difference does it make?" She didn't make eye contact, instead kept looking out the window.

He reached out and rested his hand on her lap. Claire eyed it from behind her sun glasses and brushed it off.

"We don't need an itinerary to tell us we have a bathroom break in one hundred twenty minutes and ten seconds." He laughed.

"Are you mocking me?" She curved an eyebrow and was now looking his direction.

His eyes on the road, "We just don't need any of that crap." Owen insisted.

"That crap?"

"Stuff."

"That crap is—"

"Stuff~" he interrupted and corrected her.

"That stuff is important to me."

"I know, babe." He assured with a gentle squeeze to her hand.

"You do?"

"But we don't need it."

"Ugh. You are impossible." She was annoyed. She started to look around and found an old map. She unfolded it on her lap and started to study it.

Owen didn't pay attention. She seemed to have gotten lost in it, dropping the whole subject.

* * *

An hour had gone by, she had her color pen set out and was working on that map. He was singing along to Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls.

Claire fetched for the now half empty bottle of water and took a sip. She then offered it to him so he could drink.

Upon giving her the bottle back, he kept hold of her hand and took it to his lips for a gentle kiss. She let her freckled fingers linger and played with his hair for a few seconds.

"There's an exit in twenty minutes." She casually let him know. "Maybe we can take it and get a bathroom break?"

"Do you have to go? Because I can pull over."

"Why are you so disgusting?" She rolled her eyes and pulled away.

"Twenty minutes is a long way, that's all I'm saying."

"No, Owen, I don't have to go. But maybe we should take it because the next one would be far off." She looked down at her map.

"If we don't have to go, we are not stopping." He shrugged.

"What if you need to go in thirty minutes? You'd regret not stopping."

"If I have to go in thirty minutes, then I'll hold it until the next exit."

"What if I have to go in thirty minutes? Are you going to make me hold it for two hours?" She wondered.

"Why are we discussing over pee?"

"Because you are a jerk!"

"And you are a control freak!"

"Wow. Okay." She nodded.

"I just don't see why you don't trust me. Why do you need to do all that sh—stuff? Every single time, jeez, Claire. Isn't it exhausting? Chill for a second, please?"

"Whatever—"

And just like she had calculated, exactly twenty minutes later, they were leaving that one exit behind them.

Claire pretended she didn't notice and instead picked on a new little challenge. A devious smile on her lips while she looked down.

Owen was now busy singing to Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"Water, babe?" She smiled and offered him the bottle, which he took.

The redhead casually kept the water offering every couple of songs until he had drank the whole bottle down.

Soon, he took on singing for her. Claire had figured out by now that he did this to his guilty pleasure songs; those he thought were too cheesy to admit he liked. So here he was, singing to her, out loud;

You should have seen by the look in my eyes, baby

There was somethin' missin'

You should have known by the tone of my voice, maybe

But you didn't listen

You played dead, but you never bled

Instead you laid still in the grass, all coiled up and hissin'

Claire just laughed and turned the music up before adjusting and finding a way to be leaned against his side while he kept driving.

This is where phase two of her plan came in. She was suddenly feeling touchy feely. This always made him lose control.

The bathroom break exit she had suggested was about thirty minutes behind them by now.

She let her lips brush up his cheek, and finding his ear she smiled against it. "Keep singing to me, I like it..." She murmured before nibbling on his ear lobe.

...And I meant

Every word I said

When I said that I loved you, I meant that I loved you forever

And I'm gonna keep on lovin' you

'Cause it's the only thing I want to do

I don't want to sleep, I just want to keep on lovin' you.

Claire was laughing at his over the top mimicry and air guitar, but her lips and her hands were on a mission.

She brought her lips down to his neck, using one of her hands to tilt his head to the side at the exact angle she needed it, still making it possible for him to keep his eyes on the road but impossible to keep singing.

She peppered it with soft kisses, her hand sneaking under his shirt while she felt the warmth of his chest against it. A hand she had made sure to keep cold by the a/c vent just minutes before.

"You are cold~" He laughed, wiggling a little.

Her hand moved down, "is it bad that I want to slip it down your pants, get it warm?" She teased, slipping down up to her nails and started massaging his lower abdomen.

"You want me to crash and die." He adjusted, leaning back a little.

"Do you want me to stop?" She asked playfully.

"Nope. Not one bit, not at all." He shook his head, but kept his senses on the road. "I got this."

Claire was using the music coming out of the car radio to count time. A song should be an average of three minutes, which is what she spent massaging the area below his belly button.

She then found a way to kiss him soundly a couple of times making sure his eyes didn't stay off the road for long.

Owen had a huge goofy grin on his lips, "this just turned interesting." He chuckled.

"For you and me both." She agreed, hiding her smile from him. "Be right back." She casually added and crawled over to the back.

Owen couldn't help himself and playfully spanked her before laughing like an idiot.

"What have I told you about doing that?" Claire had turned over and her head was now over his shoulder.

She nibbled gently at it and faked a light moan for his pleasure. She then went to the back.

In two minutes, the redhead was back with a new water bottle, salty nuts, and a towel.

She spent the next half an hour feeding him those nuts and making him parch with them, so he willingly drank almost the entire bottle of water.

Her hands hadn't stayed steady either. She had been massaging the inside of his thigh though his jeans while he drove, ate, and drank water.

"I—I would need you to stop that for a few." Owen finally mumbled. He adjusted and shifted a little.

"Why, you don't like it?" She asked innocently, her fingers playfully pinching the inside of his thigh.

"Oh, I do. It's just —-"

"It's just what?" She tilted her head. Claire felt like she was swallowing her smile, it was hard to keep hidden.

"Nothing..." He eyed her and shook his head.

She shrugged and kept the massaging going for about ten more minutes. She'd alter from his thigh to his lower abdomen. She always made sure to keep her hand cool.

At some point it was impossible for him to hold it and before he could pull over, the man peed his pants.

Claire looked down as he relaxed and his jeans grew wet. She threw the towel to his face and pulled away from him.

"Asshole."

Claire 1 —- Owen 0

But who was keeping score, really? Specially when at the end, they both would lose.


	2. Chapter 2

For the past two years, Claire and Owen had managed to live a somewhat normal life — aside from dealing with the media and the aftermath of the catastrophic events from 2015. Since then, she had created an initiative to protect the dinosaurs left behind back in Isla Nublar and he had taken on working any sort of job involving manual labor.

There was more to Claire Dearing than the ice queen operations manager everybody thought they knew. There was a time, way back when she was a teen, when she cared for animals and wanted to raise awareness, made sure people respected them, and cared for them like the living creatures they were. Her true calling was to meet contacts and gain power so she could be these animals' voice. At some point, she lost her way, but the past had only taught her a valuable lesson. Sure she didn't have a seat in the senate like she had always wished to, but she had the kind of experience and public attention that made her the only person who could make sure those prehistoric creatures lived a peaceful life.

Owen, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with dinosaurs anymore. He respected Claire's determination to keep an eye on them, and he was genuinely interested in her initiative, The Dinosaur Protection Group, but only as a partner to her. In the way any significant other would casually ask about their other half's day. He'd ask enough to make her feel like he was interested in her matters but still keep his distance so she could understand he wasn't thinking on joining her in that journey anytime soon. He cared for her happiness and he truly wished she could reach a positive outcome with _her_ project. This was _her_ thing.

He was a freelancer, now. He had made a name for himself by doing heavy manual labor. From a simple task like painting, to roofing, brick layering, and even construction.

He had the stamina for it and even if it was physically exhausting, at the end of the day he got the best reward a man could wish for; a hot girlfriend who thought his job was sexy, and that by the time he made it home she would make sure he knew how much ...at least on the nights they would spend together.

Even after dating for almost three years, the couple had never settled into living together. She had a condo and he had his van. He enjoyed the freedom the nature of his job and the vehicle he called home gave him. That van had everything he possibly could ask for. It had a bed; where both of them fit perfectly — it demanded for her to be really tight up to him but that was just a plus in his book. It had a seat that he referred to as his couch. It drove Claire crazy when he did; it was technically the backseat and never in a million years would it be a couch; those were her literal words every time it was brought up; she truly couldn't let him have just one thing. It also had a small counter with more drawers than he could ever filled, but he used them all. His belongings randomly put away in all of them, not a single drawer was empty. This drove Claire crazy, it was impossible to find things.

He loved loved his van, she tolerated it.

The thing he loved the most about it was that he could take off at any moment and not have a single care in the world. He could work anywhere, really, so his free-spirit never felt tied to a place. However, he was reaching a point in his life where he didn't want to go anywhere without Claire. That's why he had brought up she should join him in this little trip, the kind of trip he usually did by himself. He was thrilled that she had so easily agreed to come with, and he was also grateful for it.

The redhead was more pragmatic, and the only reason why she was beside him in that van at the moment, was because for the most part, the DPG gave her the flexibility to work from a laptop or her iPhone. And most importantly, because she knew he just needed to take a ride around and they would be back to San Francisco soon enough. She too was reaching a moment in her life when she didn't want to stay anywhere without Owen.

"You know, maybe when we get back, you can paint my condo." Claire casually suggested. It was more a request, but it sounded like a demand. Even after all this time, which she had spent draining her system from that woman she had let herself become, she sometimes could be really bossy.

He nodded. They had been on the road for about three hours since their last stop. He had one hand on the wheel, Claire had his other one one captive in hers. She'd only let go of it when he needed to shift gears in the stick shift between them. He's focus was on the road, he quietly turned left over onto a small road and followed it. "It'd be a hundred bucks, and that's before the supplies, unless you want to get those on your end." He finally agreed, he was dead serious about charging her, not a hint of tease in his facial expressions.

"What? You serious?" An incredulous redhead wondered.

"This is what I do for a living, Claire, of course I'm serious". He laughed before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

Claire abruptly pulled her hand away and looked away. She couldn't believe her boyfriend was expecting her to pay him for a _favor_. He could go screw himself, she could do this herself, she didn't need him. Then again, she could also mess with him and find someone else, "Forget it, I know a guy who'd do it for fifty." She shrugged.

"Good, then call him."

"And he'd do it shirtless and I'm sure he'd love some cold lemonade afterwards." She added, pretending to be day dreaming about the nonexistent guy. Her eyes faking this glow in them Owen was too familiar with. It was the glow they sparkled every time she admired him when half naked, or when working. The kind of glow two eyes with desire radiated.

Owen eyed her, that possessive twitching she loved so much present while he pulled the van over, "You don't even know how to make lemonade!" He turned the engine off. "And who's is this idiot?"

Claire chuckled at how jealous he had gotten at the casual mention of some other guy, but decided to ignore the last part and focus on the whole lemonade situation, "You squeeze some lemons into some water, mix some sugar, drop some ice cubes in the whole thing ...and you've got lemonade!" She looked around trying to figure out where they were, "I mean, how hard can it be? You know how to do it." She shrugged before she unbuckled her seatbelt.

She spent a few minutes on her map and draw a red dot at their current location. It didn't matter how much Owen insisted, she had spent the whole trip following their path on the map.

Owen had stopped by a lookout, the view from there was beautiful. The sun was slowly setting which made the sky look orange. There was a city below them. He had chosen this spot for their first night. There was also a small waterfall coming down the mountain just a few yards away from them. He was silently cursing the fact that the end was too far down from them, otherwise he'd try talk her into swimming in it with him.

"C'mon." He smiled and stepped out of the van. He met her by the front and took her hand. They both walked over to the edge and let a few seconds of silence take them into the view.

"This is beautiful." She smiled and slowly hugged his waist. Claire had spent half of her life locked in that island, and even if it was beautiful, she had forgotten what other things were out there. This was one of the many reasons why it was so easy for Owen to talk her into taking these sporadic trips with him. She was rediscovering the world, and she couldn't get enough of it.

"Do you want to spend the night here with me?" He asked softly, looking down at her with a gentle smile. His arms around her.

Claire nodded. She slowly looked up, fixing her eyes on his.

"Do you think we will get in trouble if I set up a campfire?" He laughed, his hands slowly letting go and reaching over to her face. He let his fingers tuck the little strands of hair flying around her face behind her ears.

The redhead tilted her head to his touch but at his words, she let go of his waist. She walked around the soiled ground and among the trees. She managed to explore about with grace in those heels she was wearing.

"Where are you going?" He wondered and rushed his step behind her. Both of them being careful and watching each step they took.

By the time he made it to her side, she was already holding a few dried branches to help him set that campfire up. She smiled over when he met her and kept picking up as many broken branches as her arms would allow her.

He smiled back glad to see she had so eagerly jumped to the idea. Owen didn't lose a moment and bent down to pick up some bigger ones, between the two of them they had enough to start setting their campfire up.

"If they come get us, I'll pretend I don't know you. You are on your own, pal." She laughed while she started walking around, looking down for anything they could use.

"Wow. So much for sticking together and being a team." He laughed along.

Claire wondered further into the forest, "Hey Owen!" She called out between the trees, only a few feet from where they had been standing.

It seemed they were in a little camping site, concrete fire pits were built in further into the woods. There was an area cleared from trees further down. Claire followed the little path down so she could reach over to the camping area.

He carefully walked among the broken branches on the ground and followed after her. "I guess we won't get in trouble after all." He smiled before kissing her temple. "I'll be right back." He placed the branches he was carrying down and ran up to where they had come from.

Claire watched him head back to the van and decided on settling on one of the fire pits. The place was empty, it wasn't really camping season. She preferred it this way too, she had never been the kind of person who liked being around others.

During his absence, Claire had managed to gather enough branches for a small campfire. This, after putting together the ones Owen had carried over and what she had found around. By the time he was back, a mountain of branches was waiting in the fire pit ready to be shifted around and accommodated accordingly.

He had gone back to the van for some stuff after coming up with this idea for a cute camping snack they could do. It had taken him about fifteen minutes to come back. He was holding a plastic bag. He had filled it with marshmallows, graham crackers, some chocolate bars, some beverages, a blanket, and other things and utensils they might need for their little meal.

"How about S'mores and beer for dinner?" He called out just a few feet away from her, sharing what he had in mind.

"Sounds like your kind of romantic."

He nodded and once in front of her, he used his free hand to pull her closer from her waist and kissed her lovingly. "And it works on you every time." He smiled against her lips.

"Mmhm.." She dryly hummed, not liking to admit she had a soft spot for his peculiar charm. She wouldn't mind if he didn't use it against her and to get his way.

She reached out and peeked into the bag, looking for the matches. She was eager to start the fire up.

"No; I'll set it up!" He pulled the bag away from her.

Claire rolled her eyes.

"It's a man's job to set the campfire." He insisted.

"Ugh. I'll be over there throwing up." She pushed him away from her and turned around so she could get away from him.

"Take this with you, I'll be right back." He gave her an apologetic smirk; he had forgotten the matches in the van. He knew he had forgotten something, and it was until now that he had figured what it was.

Claire reached out and snatched the bag from him before she kept walking away from him.

At the van, it took Owen about five minutes to find some matches. Those five minutes felt like hours to him; he was starting to think he didn't have any and was trying to come up with some alternative to the campfire he had promised. She looked so into the idea and he hated to disappoint her, specially when she had given him vibes of being a little upset. It was always a head scratch to try figure out what he had done or said to upset her so easily.

He finally found some matches in the compartment, It was a true relief when he found that little box. He sighed and thanked the trees and the rocks around. He was ready to go caveman style and try spark some fire with rocks; or maybe he could upset Claire and have her spit fire at him and use that instead. He made sure he locked his van and he headed back to his girlfriend.

In the meantime, the redhead had gotten comfortable on the built-bench by their fire pit. She had the bag with their things by her side. She decided to peek into it, and dig into it for the matches. She was going to show him how she could set up a fire pit just fine. She frowned when she couldn't find the matches, and started to take everything out of the bag, just to find out they weren't there. "Unbelievable." She was thinking he had taken the matches with him, anticipating this move from her.

Claire grabbed one of the small branches she had gathered and threw it away the farthest she could. She was trying to release some of her frustration that way. She smiled to herself at the feeling and took another one. She tried throw it even farther. What she really wanted to do, was throw them at Owen and hope her aim was good enough that they will hit him in the head — but she was not going to do that. The more branches she threw out the more her mind started to get distracted in how to get to him about this.

Upon his return, Owen found the fire pit empty, "Hey what happened?" He wondered with a frown. The smile of victory his lips wore after finding those damn matches was quickly vanished.

"It's a man's job to collect the logs." She shrugged and didn't make eye contact with him. She had one last small branch in her hands. She played with it for a few seconds before throwing it out into the forest as hard as she could. "Fetch, boy." She commanded like one would their dog. She had spent his time away throwing them all around her.

"You are eight." He rolled his eyes.

"And you are a macho shit head."

* * *

Claire was concentrated in licking and kissing off the chocolate on Owen's face. She giggled and moaned while her lips playfully nibbled at his cheeks and nose.

They had been sitting by the campfire for about thirty minutes now. They were cuddled under the blanket, she was sitting across his lap. They each had eaten a couple of s'mores and had had a beer and a half each. Now they were just enjoying the rest of the campfire as it slowly burnt down. Even after having that little disagreement, they were under the stars having a nice moment as if it had never happened.

Her green eyes sparkled against the light of the fire, she blushed while they made eye contact. It was too dark for Owen to appreciate the pink shade in her cheeks, but by the way she was looking at him he knew he was having that effect on her.

"Don't give me that look." He murmured and leaned over, his lips were now the ones gently leaving soft kisses over her cheeks and nose.

Claire giggled at his demand. She couldn't help it, she always blushed when his hands got curious over her skin. It was the natural response she had over how playful his fingers got.

He was holding her under the blanket. His fingers wishing she were wearing a skirt or a dress that night. They were slowly massaging the inside of her thigh while his lips tasted the sweet scent of her neck.

"I love you..." She murmured softly before his lips found hers. His hand now sliding up around her other thigh and over to her ass.

"You are with me just for the sex." He teased her, but his tone was gentle and calmed.

"No~I really do love you." She smiled, before capturing his lips in hers. Claire closed her eyes and gently tasted the softness of his lips against hers. She released a moan before allowing her tongue to deepen their kiss.

"You are a pain in my ass, but god...I can't resist you." He murmured after they both had broken off the kiss.

"Tell me you love me~" She demanded while her lips were busy teasing the area around his ear. He had confessed his love for her many times before, so Claire wasn't graving to hear him say something he hadn't before.

He reached out and slowly ran his fingers along her chin and leading it over so she could face him. "I love you." He said with his hazel eyes fixed in her green ones, a loving smile on his lips.

Claire shifted under the blanket and adjusted on his lap. "I could stay here, like this with you for the rest of my life." She admitted with a soft whisper almost afraid to interrupt the sound of nature in the background, crickets, the sizzling of their campfire, and the wind blowing between the tress was the only things audible to the human ear around them.

He smiled. There was something he had been wanting to ask her and the genuine sound of her last statement was making his heart beat fast in anticipation, making him believe it was the perfect timing. Because he also wanted to spend the rest of his life in a moment like this one, with her only if she was there with him. It didn't make sense to drive along a road to anywhere if she wasn't there by his side.

He parted his lips, finding courage to ask, which caught her attention. "What?" She smiled softly, she could see in his eyes that he wanted to say something and with a tender peck on his lips, she encourage him to ask.

His fingers brushed her red hair back, and his eyes wouldn't stop staring deep into her. He smiled at her and with a tender murmur he asked her what he had been wanting to do for a while now.

"Move in with me~"


	3. Chapter 3

Claire's giggle echoed against the inside of the van. They had struggled for control for a few minutes on their way on until Owen managed to dominate her completely and sit her down on the middle of the bed.

After their campfire, the couple had ran up back to the vehicle. The one who had initiated the foreplay had been the redhead, by curling her fingers tightly on his shirt she had pulled him over against her, enabling him to pin her between the van and his body. He rested his hands on her hips while their lips were hungrily tasting each other. Claire curved her body against his, her fingers being quick to pull his shirt over his head and throwing it into the van. He had never seen her so impatient before, but he liked it.

There was something about a woman who took the lead that turned him on; it made him want to fight her for it and ultimately show her who was in charge.

This is why Claire and Owen always had amazing wild sex; she was the kind of woman who threaten to be in control but would completely surrender against a man who knew how to take it from her. The compatible sexual dynamic they shared was what made them have such an intense sexual tension between them; specially if they were not together as a couple. He was positive charge and she was negative; when too close, it took a lot of force to keep them from humping each other. Their bodies were like a magnet and iron.

Her freckled hands were admiring his strong pectorals, her lips nibbling on his chin while she felt her breathing increase its speed. He smiled down at her, his lips slowly kissing hers, his body slowly leaned over crawling onto the bed and settling in front of her.

He kicked his shoes off and she mirrored the action. His hands were curious, moving up under her top as he adjusted and kneeled between her legs, obligating her to bend them up. He leaned closer, his lips finding hers and his hands finding her perky breasts. He made her moan at the feeling of the attention they were getting. He let his lips travel down her neck, Claire closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, completely surrendered to his touch by then.

"You are so beautiful." He murmured, his hands sliding down to find the end of her top and pulling it off over her head. He threw it over behind his shoulder, not carrying where it landed.

Owen shifted around, his hands moving up from her knees to the inside of her thighs leading her to rest her back against the mattress. He kissed her belly gently and tenderly started leaving a trace of kisses up, between her breasts, and over to her collar bone. He could tell she was enjoying this, even if she was quiet, the rhythm of her breathing kept shifting.

He found her lips again, Claire captured them in hers and her fingers moved around his head, getting lost in his hair.

He pulled back for a second and his attention was brought to her jeans. He worked on undoing the button and unzipping them before slowly pulling them down her creamy legs and letting them drop onto the floor. She bit on her lower lip, fixing her green eyes on his. Her one leg bending up, and resting her foot on his naked chest. The way she was looking at him suggesting what she was in the mood for. He smiled back, completely into the idea.

He took her foot in his hands and offered a tender massage. They were already making love with their eyes, until he noticed she had gotten distracted with something else, her green eyes no longer hypnotizing his hazel ones.

The frown she had between her brows was now suddenly a look of distress. She had sit back, "what was that?" She wondered lightly. "There was something..." she pointed over at the cabinet behind Owen.

He looked back, but there was nothing there. His body was already too arose for him to care about what she had seen, he needed her and was determined to make her forget about it.

He crawled forward and kissed her gently. Claire soon forgetting about the whole thing, her lips unable to stop kissing his. He kissed her soundly, their tongues playing for a couple of seconds as he managed to slowly rest her back down onto the mattress.

"Did you hear that?" She pushed him away breaking the kiss. She was positive she had heard some high-pitched squeak coming from behind him.

"No, I didn't babe." He shook his head. He didn't have patience for this. "C'mon..." He begged looking down to himself, letting her know that he really wanted to keep going.

"You promise?" She sounded alarmed.

"Mmhmm." He vaguely mumbled before finding her neck and started peppering it with kisses.

"Fuck—" She pulled back away from him.

"I'm trying to but jeez." He was officially annoyed.

"You have a fucking rat in here!" She cried out, dragging her body to the corner and bending her knees up as if trying to keep them as far as she could from the animal.

"No, I don't!" He watched her get so unease about this. She was acting like she had seen a ghost.

"Then what the fuck is that!?" She pointed out at the gray rodent licking its paws on the cabinet across from the bed.

Owen looked over his shoulder and smiled, "that's Ralph the mouse!" He explained like it was no big deal. That mouse had lived in his van for a while now. The two of them had been able to coexist peacefully, and Owen even fed it some crackers at times. They were old pals.

"Ralph the mouse, my ass!" She gulped. It was evident she wasn't really fond of the creatures. She was panting by then. "Owen is moving, where is it going?" She pulled a pillow over and hugged it. The small mouse sniffing around, its little whiskers moving as it walked along the cabinet.

"It's time for his snack. He knows where the crackers are so it's all good." Owen shrugged.

"Oh god." Claire tucked her hair behind her ears and made a little border around her using the rest of the pillows and the sheets and covers, in her mind thinking that would keep the animal away. In the few seconds that it took her to set the border around her, she lost sight of Ralph. "Where did it go? Where did it go!?"

"He went eat so he can come back bigger and scarier!" He mocked her, mimicking claws with his fingers and making a face.

Claire was not amused, "I'm out of here! Jeans please." She pointed out at her jeans that were on the floor by the bed.

"Babe, c'mon, he is gone... can we just go back to sexy time?" He begged, still really in the mood.

"Jeans, please." She insisted. The only mood Claire was in, was in the mood to run for the hills away from that thing.

"Look at yourself. You worked with dinosaurs! You are not scared of a T-Rex but you are scared of Ralph?" He didn't get it.

"Forget it, I'll get the jeans myself." She crawled over to the edge of the bed and slowly reached out for her jeans, she was trembling. It wasn't visible to the human eye, but she could feel it.

The redhead screamed when she caught sight of the mouse's long tail under the cabinet and quickly pulled her jeans up. She put them on as fast as she could. She needed her top too, but that one was too close to the rodent. "I'm not having sex ever again." She whimpered.

"WHAT?" Owen took that statement way too personal.

"No, I mean, all I can think of is that disgusting demon thing." She whined. Claire crawled around, feeling completely trapped. There was no place to go where she could feel she was safe from that thing, and she couldn't even get dressed thanks to it. The redhead managed to move around over all the seats and found his shirt which she put on. "Get it out, please." She finally begged something she shouldn't have.

"But he lives here, I can't kick him out! He didn't do anything wrong." Owen explained.

"God, Owen. I swear!" Did she really have to say it was either her or the mouse? She certainly thought no.

Owen figured that was the next thing she'd say, he could read it in her eyes. He quietly started looking for it. He moved some stuff around and after a couple of minutes he stopped, his eyes steady and fixed on one spot.

"What?" Claire asked, hiding behind a seat.

"Ralph is a mom." He looked down into the corner behind the stuff he had moved.

"What do you mean Ralph is a mom?" The redhead blinked, she grabbed her pillow and kept it ready. She was going to suffocate that bitch if she got close to her.

"I found his nest, well her nest. She has five cute little babies." He bent down to look at them. Ralph was there feeding them some of the crackers.

Claire was done, "I'm out of here, Owen." She was about to cry. It was driving her crazy to think she was in that van sharing air with that thing and its creatures.

She found a way to move around without touching the floor and climb onto the passenger seat on the front. She then moved to the drivers seat. She was going to use that door to get out, the other one was too close to the mice.

Owen moved quick, he grabbed an empty box and managed to push Ralph and her babies into it. He ran barefoot out of the van and carefully released them by a tree. He then walked around the van and intersected Claire before she could get out.

"They are gone, please." He laughed. He reached out and took her hands on his. They were sweaty, that's when he realized how serious she was about this and she wasn't exaggerating anything. "They are gone, you are the queen of the van." He kissed her hands gently.

"I don't want to sleep here." She shook her head.

"I think we left a motel about half an hour back, we can head over and stay there for the night." He suggested. "I promise in the morning, I'll clean the van." He nodded, kissing her hands a little more.

* * *

It was the sound of a vacuum cleaner what had woken Claire up. She slowly opened her eyes to find the spot next to hers was already cold. She frowned wondering where Owen was. She was still wearing his shirt and nothing else.

She got out of bed and walked over to the window in their motel room. She pulled the blinds to the side lightly and peeked outside. He had kept his promise and was cleaning every corner of that van. There was a lot of trash piled on one side and his things were on the other one.

She smiled lightly and watched him work for a few minutes. She loved watching him do anything related to manual labor, she found it extremely sexy. She decided to take advantage of their room and take a shower, one she was grateful for. Knowing Owen, she'd end up fighting it with him since he probably would think they could hold a shower for the next couple of days.

She washed her hair, too. She had a lot of thinking to do now that she was alone, having a private moment to herself while he cleaned his van. _His_ van, that's the main thing she had to think about. She was guilty of using sex to distract him, and then the whole rodent thing sidetracked them from that. She didn't have an answer for him, and she didn't know if he would understand that she needed time to think this through. She didn't have to think about the milestone it was to move in together; she was ready for that. She had even tried turn this around and say she'd love for him to move into her condo, but it didn't work. He clarified he meant move into the van and just make the world theirs.

She smiled at the thought of living with him and as she kept her eyes closed feeling the warm water shower the soap off her, she could see herself happy in his arms it didn't matter where they where. But she also frowned once she opened them, it's like the illusion broke when she did so. That whole thing with the mouse was a clear reason why she couldn't live in that thing. But then again, he was out there cleaning it up for her, making sure it was cozy and comfortable for her liking. That's when she knew he was dead serious, he wanted to share that van with her. How could she say no to that? To Owen sharing his world with her.

After her shower, she changed into fresh clothes and walked out to meet him. He was done with the van. Owen smiled and kissed her lovingly. "Go on, see if you like it." He smiled, hoping she would.

He had moved things around, too. The drawers were now organized and he had taken note on some things she had previously suggested and he had ignored. She could feel her heart melting.

"Does it feel like a place you live in? One we share?" He asked rubbing the back of his neck.

She looked up, that's when she knew he wasn't dropping the subject any time soon. She smiled over and got out. She walked towards him and nodded, "It does. It feels like our van." She made eye contact, still not ready to agree and turn that feeling into a statement, but she was getting there. She kissed him lovingly.

" _Our_ van." He smiled, offering the brightest of grins.

"You should go shower, so we can get going and get some breakfast." She suggested, her hand slowly reaching for the van keys in his.

He looked down and tilted his head watching her take them.

"I'll go fill it." She smiled, there was a gas station next to their motel.

He frowned lightly and shook his head. "It's okay, I can do that after we have breakfast." He kissed her cheek and took the keys away from her.

"I can do it now, save us some minutes." She reached back to the keys, but he had his fingers tightly closed around them. "Owen, c'mon." She chuckled tilting her head.

"No, it's fine. I'll do it." He cupped her cheeks and pecked her lips before turning around and leaving to go take that shower.

Claire watched him walked back into their room, left completely confused. She didn't know what to make out of this...had he refused to let her drive the van?


	4. Chapter 4

Claire's head had been turning around for the past five minutes. She didn't want to overthink anything into Owen's insisting that she didn't have to drive two minutes over to the gas station because he was taking care of it. However, she couldn't find a way to shake off the feeling she had been left with.

She was sitting on the edge of that motel bed, her fingers playing with her cellphone while she remained lost in her thoughts. She kept playing the whole thing in her head, trying to figure out if she was in the wrong here. But each time, it all seemed so innocent — they were a team, a couple, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary to have her drive to get some gas specially when it was the convenient thing to do.

Being the organized person she was, the redhead had already made sure their things were ready for them to be loaded into the van. It wasn't much; only some laundry among other personal things. She could have even done it herself, except she had found the van locked and she hadn't been able to find the keys around the room, either.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Babe?" She called out, still sitting on that bed. She frowned, reaching out and rubbing her arm. "I'm loading our stuff back in the van so we can just leave once you are out." She tried sound as casual as she could. Claire bit on her lower lip waiting for his acknowledgement.

"Okay." He immediately called back from the shower.

Claire sighed and shook her head. She robbed her forehead and checking the time on the nightstand alarm clock beside her, she let two minutes passed before calling back for him again, "It's locked, have you seen the keys?" She felt so stupid for playing this little game with him, but she couldn't think of a better way to clear out her mind. She really needed to see that he didn't have anything against her going near that van.

"I think I left them in my pants." He called out.

"Okay." She sighed lightly. That was a good sign, wasn't it? He had just placed them in his pocket and then headed to the shower. Claire took a second before she stood up and quietly made into the bathroom. She slowly opened the door, hearing the shower running. She could see his silhouette behind the shower curtain, he was humming some song to himself.

She found his jeans on the floor next to the rest of his clothes, they were the same he had been wearing the day before. She shook her head wondering if he was capable of wearing them again after his shower; she was dating a child. Claire bent down and picked them up. She immediately went fishing for those keys and smiled to herself when she found them in the left front pocket of his jeans, she contemplated on her hand for a few seconds before closing her first around them.

"Hey gorgeous." He suddenly poked his head out between the shower curtain and the wall, making Claire jump a little bit before she giggled.

"Kiss, please." He asked with a content grin on his face. He had been thinking about how she had called the vehicle their van, it had given him hope that she was willing to move in with him and that alone made him the happiest of men. He was already making a mental list of places where he could take her and where they could spend some nights together.

She couldn't help smile back at him and gently pecked his lips. "Don't forget to wash behind your ears." Claire teased him. "I'll take this with me, I'll bring you fresh stuff from the van." She offered.

He nodded, "Okay."

She found his eyes and for a second gave away how confused she was feeling, her fingers gripping tight around those keys under the pile of clothes that she was holding against her chest, "I love you." She frowned.

"I love you, too." He tilted his head. "One more before you go." He poked his lips out feeling her gently kiss him back.

"I'll be right back." She nodded before turning around and leaving him to finish his shower. Owen watched her leave before he went back to his humming.

Once she closed the bathroom door behind her, she put his dirty clothes with in the plastic bag with hers and headed out of the room. The van parked right in front of their door, so she managed to bring a few stuff with her and and avoid making unnecessary trips back and forth. She opened the van and carefully walked inside.

It really had a new feeling to it and even smelt nice. She accommodated some stuff around before going into his drawers looking for some clothes for him to wear.

Everything was sorted differently, more organized, which she appreciated even if it had her going drawer after drawer looking for his stuff. She smiled finding a drawer with a few of her clothes. It was little details like this what made her feel how much he truly loved her and how bad he wanted for them to call that van their home. It helped her try not to overthink, but it only confused her more in a way.

She finally found the one drawer he had picked for his clothes and grabbing some she headed back out. She locked the van and intentionally kept the keys in the front pocket of the pair of skinny jeans she was wearing.

Back in the bathroom, she set everything down on the sink counter, he was still humming to himself. She was expecting for him to ask about the keys but she went in and out of the bathroom without a word said. Once the door was closed behind her, Claire took the keys out of her pocket and nibbled on her lower lip.

She had made sure everything they owned was back in the van, she walked around it and slid into the driver's seat.

The first thing she did was roll the window down and then adjusted the seat to her liking. She let her fingers feel the neat leather around the wheel and smiled to herself. Claire looked up through the rear view mirror and adjusted it to her height before checking herself on it so she could fix her bangs.

She kept the keys on her lap, still getting familiar with that seat in the van she'd never been on. She pressed the clutch pedal all the way down and played with the gear stick a little bit. She knew how to drive one, it wasn't rocket science.

The redhead screamed and rested her hand on her chest after hearing Owen's voice next to her, "what are you doing, babe?" He asked with a light smile on his face. She hadn't even closed the door yet, she was honestly just exploring the van from that angle, but for some reason she was looking guilty which she shouldn't have because she wasn't doing anything wrong. But here she was, feeling like she had stepped into prohibited territory and that's what had her feeling so weird and confused.

Claire's brain worked faster than Owen's so she casually let go of the wheel and took the keys from her lap before he could; not that she knew he would, but just in case. "I'm just feeling the van around." She shrugged, "nothing wrong with that, right?" She tilted her head and chewed on the inside of her lip.

"Are you ready to go?" He wondered.

"Yeah." She nodded and her eyes moved from him to the front, she sighed and took a second. "Get in, so we can drive over to the diner." She motioned with her head so he could walk around and get in. He didn't know, but she was testing him and that painful thought invading her head.

Owen nodded, "Okay, move over." He asked gently for her to change to the passengers seat so he could drive them to close by diner next to their motel, like she had suggested.

Claire gulped softly and fixed her eyes on his, "That's fine, I can drive us over." She frowned lightly, tilting her head a little almost begging him to go along with it.

Owen leaned close and kissed her lips lovingly. The redhead gave into the kiss and softly caressed his cheek before he pulled back. He playfully carried her on his arms and brought her out placing her on the floor. He chuckled and after leaving a kiss on her cheek, he stepped in. "Come on." He motioned with his head so she could walk around and get in, just like she had done not even two minutes ago.

He readjusted the seat and the rearview mirror while Claire stood there feeling how her brain was tearing her heart apart.

She gulped the 'no' that was building in her throat and held the door for him before slamming it shut.

"Careful, you'll hurt its feelings." He frowned.

"FUCK its feelings." She spat out as she walked around the van and got in, "and fuck you, too."

Once she was on her seat, Owen reached out and tried run his fingers along her cheek but she brushed him off. He sighed and reached out so he could start the van and head over to that diner for breakfast. "Keys, please." He asked politely once he noticed they weren't on.

Claire threw them across his window and looked away from him. She turned back around and watched how he opened the door to get them before she decided to simply stepped out herself. She took her purse with her and with her arms crossed against her chest, she started to walk away from him and his stupid van.

* * *

Claire's green eyes were looking down at her plate, she had been picking on her food for a few minutes now. She was quiet, trying to keep her thoughts from making her do something she'd soon regret. It was funny how one could be starving one minute and then something would completely mess with your appetite.

Owen was devouring his food. The little s'mores snack they had had the night before hadn't been much. He chewed on a bite of pancakes before frowning at the sight of Claire nibbling on her pinky nail and twirling her fork around her fruit.

He could tell she was sad, lost in her thoughts. They would usually sit at the same side of the table, but that morning she had sat across from him after meeting him at the diner. He had made it over first, had even managed to park the van and get a table before she made it over by foot.

He pushed his plate across the table and quietly sat next to her. He brought his arm around her shoulder and to his surprise she didn't pull him away, instead she gently nosed into the crook of his neck and sobbed lightly.

It was over.

She could feel it in her heart but didn't have the guts to admit it. She was already three steps ahead of him with that thought making her sick to her stomach.

"Do you want to get your fruit to go? Maybe you'll get hungry on the road." He suggested softly before placing a kiss on her temple.

Claire shook her head, she already knew she was not getting on that van with him, but again, didn't find a way to tell him. "I love you." She whimpered before her arms hugged his waist and her nose took in his scent one last time.

"I love you too." He kissed her nose before asking for their check.

Claire pushed her plate away and waited for Owen to pay before they could walk out of the diner and over to the van. They walked out holding hands, but it was the most quiet couple of minutes in their relationship.

She stopped walking right in front of the van and letting go of his hand, she let her eyes fall on his. This was her last try and because it was a now or never kind of situation, she was going to be direct. She needed to hear it from him, instead of reading into it.

"Can I drive the van over to the gas station?" She asked, trying her best not to sound shaky.

Owen chuckled and looked over to said gas station which was right across the road. It was a five minute drive, if not less. All it took was to pull the van back and drive across. Anyone could do that, really. "I thought we agreed I would do it." He shrugged.

Claire shook her head, she didn't even care as to why he wouldn't let her drive that damn van. The only thing that mattered was that he didn't want her to.

"I'm not going." She could feel how much that reality burned the inside of her throat as she voiced it.

"Okay, you wait here while I fill it up and I'll pick you up once I'm done."

"I don't get it." She chuckled, her eyes looking up before she shook her head, "you ask me to move in with you, but what does that even mean to you?"

She wasn't screaming at him, that's when he knew she was dead serious about the conversation she was initiating. He knew he better be careful with what he said, or he would be paying it expensive and he couldn't afford that. He couldn't afford losing her.

Owen remained quiet, he knew her very well by now; good enough to know that even if she was asking him a question, she wasn't done talking. His eyes were soft on her, letting her know she had his full attention.

"Because to me...to me it means that you want to make that van our home." Her voice broke at the last two words. She was so ready to build a home with him, so ready that she didn't care if it was a tin with wheels, her condo, a castle, or a carton box somewhere. All that matter to her was that it was with him and it would be theirs; but that van was not theirs.

Owen nodded softly, "that's what it means." He agreed with a light murmur. "I fixed you a drawer and organized it using your system."

"You want me to live in it and you want me to feel like home in it. But—but you won't even let me drive it across the street." She finally confessed what was bothering her. "Or you just want me in your bed? That's all that'll be ours? For the rest I'm just the passenger..."

"No. You know you mean more to me than just sex." He immediately reassured her, failing to acknowledge the important part of what she was expressing.

She laughed "Do I look like the kind of person who would live in a van?" She was trying to make a point, "in the side of some random road?" She moved her hands around. Because she certainly wasn't, however she could see herself happy taking that journey with him if it meant they were in it together and he wasn't just driving her around.

"No. You look like the kind of princess who needs a castle and a marble bathroom where she can take long showers and wash her hair every day." He made fun of her.

"Am I asking you for a castle, you prick?" She asked, raising her voice a little. She was trying to see if he would understand, see how he was hurting her, but instead he was already defensive and mocking her.

"You dismissing my van kinda gives that vibe." He shrugged.

"I'm not dismissing your stupid van. I don't care about the fucking van. I'm just confused, annoyed, and HURT that it seems like you don't want me to drive it."

"Why do you need to drive it though?" Owen insisted.

"Seriously?" She was now aggravated, it was very clear this would go nowhere and it was really over.

He shrugged.

"Because it would be our van, Owen. And I'm not even asking to drive it through the interstate, it's just across the street so I can fill it up." She was really fighting tears here now. She couldn't tell if they were because her heart was breaking or because she was mad that he was this clueless.

"You don't even like it."

"Ughhhh." She covered her eyes with her hands and sighed trying to push her tears back. "Forget it, I hope you and your stupid van are happy together, marry it... see if I care." She shook her head, her arms crossed against her chest. "Just leave."

He frowned and nodded, a little offended by her sarcasm. He wanted to tell her that he would marry it in a heart beat, but for once his brain acted before his mouth and he swallowed the words. He didn't see what the big deal was, he liked driving the van. Why was she making a fuss over this? It was probably a woman's thing because he was sure any man would understand and respect that.

"You want to go ahead live in your van like a bum? Go ahead, Owen." She challenged him, "but I'm not going. So, just leave." She insisted.

"Okay." He shrugged already annoyed by this whole conversation which had heated his head to the point of not thinking straight and realize that at some point he would be regretting it.

Claire pulled her cellphone out of her purse and found her location so she could get a cab, an Uber, or a whatever that could get her out of there so she could just head back home.

Owen turned around and got into the van. He started it up and without looking back he drove off. He didn't care about the gas station, the tank had enough for him to stop at the next one along the road.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been about twenty days since the last time they had seen each other, both of them equally stubborn to send a text or call the other as well. Two weeks and a half had passed since Owen had driven off to continue his road trip leaving Claire behind.

Were any of them regretting behaving the way they did? They'd never tell you, but they probably did. He was living out there, driving for hours no end, without her by his side, the vanilla scent of her lotion completely vanished from the van, and no warm freckled hand reaching out for a kiss. It was tough not to think about her, but he had locked himself up in the state of mind that she didn't agree with his style of living and she believed herself to be too good for his van or the adventurous idea of living on the road, with no limits, no worries. Owen thought Claire didn't get him and for that he was upset. It was very convenient that he was mad; you can't miss someone when you are.

He was driving east, the road seemed to lead him through the dessert. There was nothing around not even cows. It had only been the van and him for a few days now. At some point, while he forced himself to think of anything but Claire, he wondered what was it of Ralph. He couldn't believe he had kicked the only being who accepted his way of living out of the van, he'd be an illegitimate uncle to those little baby mice if he hadn't. He wasn't crazy, just bored. He was so bored he wished a flock of chicken could come out of nowhere and made him almost crash; not because he wanted to die — although he had nothing else to lose if he did, but just to bring a moment of adrenaline to his life.

That's when he started to wonder, if he was doing what he supposedly liked why was he not finding any fulfillment? He hated this, the spark and the passion he once felt for the thriving sensation of being free was gone.

Owen found himself at a small campsite. It was only a handful of vans aside from his at the place. He had set up a small campfire a few feet away from the vehicle he called home. A beer in hand while he sat on a log by his fire. He payed attention to his background, he could hear kids playing near by and the sound of the woods announcing the sun would soon hide.

There was a time in his life when staying in the middle of nowhere, drinking his beer by the fire, and carving in small logs was his happy place. A time when he couldn't possibly think of things that could make that moment better, he had everything he needed.

Now, he was there lost in his thoughts thinking about everything that was missing; her smile, her laugh, her hands finding ways to hold onto his bicep. He released a sigh and covered his face with his hands. She had ruined what made him happy, or maybe he just couldn't enjoy things without her because she was the source of his happiness. Regardless, she was gone and didn't want anything to do with him or his van... or so he thought.

It was time to try not think about her, which was a very difficult challenge.

Owen reached out for a log by his campfire and fetched for his pocket knife. Maybe if he started carving his mind would stay focus and occupied.

He quietly kept his eyes on the piece of wood while his hands started to work with his pocket knife, the log slowly started to take a curvy shape, that started wide on one end and went thin on the other one. He was carving a penguin.

For the past couple of years, each log that he carved he made sure to finish to the last detail and gave it to Claire. She had a wide collection of things he had done. Some of them had a symbolic meaning to them and some were just things he had done.

This one fell on the former, he had unconsciously picked a penguin because they only mate once and spent the rest of their lives together. Claire was his penguin, even if at the moment things seemed like they had ended in the most childish note. Even if he had been stupid and had driven away from her, he knew that they belonged to each other and somehow she'd find her way back to him.

* * *

Claire had kept herself busy the best way she knew how; work. The Dinosaur Protection Group which she had founded had been very busy lately. She barely had time to do anything else but be around making sure everything was in motion.

She could barely stand the quiet of her condo now that she hadn't heard from Owen in a long time. Maybe two weeks and change wasn't that wide of a time frame, but for the redhead it felt like a life time.

She had found some of his shirts in her wardrobe. The scent of his lotion almost made her cry. Sometimes she wondered if she had been too harsh; was this sickening feeling she had in her stomach each time she let his scent hit her worth it? All she had to do was suck it up, what did it matter if he didn't let her drive that damn van for five minutes? Except it did and she couldn't trick her brain into believing it didn't matter because she knew better than that.

The DPG was working on expanding their awareness where it counted; the children — the future, the most reliable source to the adults' attention.

They were working on a campaign, set up a tour around many public schools in San Francisco. They had to start regionally before she could reach her goal to become an international organization in which most of the planet's population would stand behind for.

The redhead was thrilled to learn new people had enlisted to volunteer. Headquarters looked like a preschool classroom lately with finger paint, crayons, markers, and a lot of cardboard paper all over the floor and on their desks.

Claire thought that handmade material would have a better impact among kids since they could relate to it, she was planning on having them do their own as well. She and a selective group of volunteers would be embarking in a classroom tour around local pre-school and elementary schools.

She was on the floor coloring a T-Rex with one of the volunteers. His name was Jackson, he was very handsome and athletic. He had dark messy hair and a pair of deep blue eyes that if not careful could drown you. He also had the most charming smirk and a very easy going personality.

Dinosaur piñatas and posters weren't the only things keeping Claire distracted from thinking too much about Owen, that handsome man and the way he flirted with her were also part of the reason.

"Hey, this is my half." He nudged her lightly feeling her hand brushing his while they both worked on coloring their poster. The two of them on their bellies, their legs bent up. They were laughing and just having fun on the floor coloring, just like a couple of kids.

She giggled watching him start coloring across from her on the side that was supposed to be hers.

After a couple of seconds he pulled away and went back to coloring the leg he had been working on, letting her keep working on the lower side of the body.

She couldn't help smile at him, her eyes resting on those blue ones. She would be lying if she said she hadn't experience first hand what it was like to get drowned in those expressive blue eyes. There was a reason (or two, most likely like five) why every girl in the initiative found him completely charming and irresistible.

To their misfortune, he had a thing for their captain — or at least that's how he addressed Claire every time she got a little too bossy. Unlike Owen, he was never challenging her natural instinct to need be in control.

He shifted so he could face her and offered a playful smirk, that was a double threat; the combination of his eyes and that irresistible smirk of his.

"We should draw a line here." She managed to articulate, being completely figurative about the matter. "You know so we don't end up into each other's space." She frowned before looking back at their T-Rex and drawing a line in the middle.

She was always stopping him after feeling he was getting too close. She felt horrible for leading him on, flirt back with him each time, and sometimes even get a little too out there for him. Claire figured that maybe she just needed some more time to get over Owen, so she could start acting on the attraction she was feeling for another man.

She would usually stay until late at the office, she couldn't deal with going back to an empty condo. There had been a time in her life when she didn't know anything else and she was okay with that but there was a difference between being alone and feeling lonely. She never knew the true meaning of the latter until she watched Owen drive away.

At least at work, she could stay distracted with her cause. There were so many things that needed to be done and so little time to do them. She wasn't the kind of woman to wear her pajamas all day and eat ice-cream while yelling at the television on how all fairytales were bullshit. She was the kind of woman to overwork herself.

So she found herself working until late that day. She was on her computer working on the little lecture she'd present to the kids. This was a challenging one since she had to make it so children could understand her and relate to it. The redhead didn't know anything about children, the last time she had had any contact with one was her nephew Zach; when he was like four and she sixteen.

This was definitely not the same.

She closed her eyes and rubbed them softly before she decided to head to the small break room they had on the other end of the floor. She poured herself some old coffee left on the coffee maker pot and reheated it in the microwave. Once done she took a sip and made a face full of disgust, it was too old to swallow.

She soon forgot about it, thinking she had heard something. The door to the floor made a peculiar sound when trying to be opened. She grabbed a roll of cardboard paper and was ready to beat the crap out of whatever it was.

She slowly walked closer just to find the door closed. She tilted her head and blinked a few times.

"Hey!" She heard a familiar voice calling from her side.

Claire jumped and screamed before turning over to see it was Jackson. "Oh my god, you are going to give me a heart attack!" She hit his shoulder with the roll and placed it on a near by desk.

He laughed.

"What are you doing here anyways?" She tilted her head, eyeing the two coffees he was holding one on each hand.

"I know you like to work in a loop, so I brought you some coffee."

That damn smirk, it had Claire nibbling on her lip and blushing a little. "Thank you."

Jackson nodded, "So what are you working on? Do you need some help?"

Claire took a sip of her fresh coffee and immediately moaned, grateful for it. "Just my lecture, really." She shrugged. "Which I'm having a lot of trouble to kids proof." She smiled against the foam glass before bringing the coffee back to her lips.

"How about you take a break from that and paint a Pteranodon with me?" He grinned.

The redhead nodded, she could totally go back to lying on the floor and innocent flirt with him, she was totally in the mood for that — who wouldn't? After all, he was so charming and handsome.

They found one that was half way done and soon where sitting on the cold floor. She was using the brown finger paint for the dinosaur's body and he had the orange one.

"Oops, you got some on your arm." He laughed, wiping his finger on her forearm.

They had been sitting there letting their hands slowly brush against each other and sometimes even lean close enough for their shoulders to do so also for about ten minutes now.

Claire laughed and nibbled on her lower lip, "Hold on, I think you have some on yours too." She wiped her finger on his now, her stain going from his wrist up to his elbow.

"Wow." He laughed. "So that's how things are going to be, huh?" He smirked.

Why, why did he insist on smirking at her? Claire looked away and playfully shrugged.

"Well, What are you going to do about this?" He took her arm and did a long line all around it.

She looked down and sucking her fingers in the paint she reached out to him and draw a mustache over his lips. "It suits you, it's very evil-like." She laughed.

Jackson dipped his finger in the paint and leaning closer he tried to get to her face but she held tight from his wrist and try keep him away.

"Noooo!" She laughed before they realized this little moment was becoming a little wrestle, with Jackson trying to get to her face and Claire stopping him.

He managed to capture both her arms and kept them down. Their eyes met for a moment before she felt her eyes falling on his lips. She let them linger there for a little too long since he noticed.

"What?" He wondered.

"Don't ever grow a mustache." She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

Jackson smiled and nodded, "I promise."

Claire bit on her lower lip and feeling him leaning towards her, she closed her eyes. She gulped softly when he let go of one of her wrists, she was now feeling his fingers cupping her head, the paint in them staining her freckled cheeks but completely unintentionally.

He closed the space between them, the redhead could feel her breathing pace increasing while she felt the warm of his breath half an inch away from her lips. She could feel his lips about to brush with hers when she rested her forehead against his.

She released her other arm from his grip and slowly brought both her hands to caress his cheeks. She moved her fingers around his temples and let them get lost in his hair.

He felt enabled but still took a second to fully pressed his lips against hers. It was her move, it was up to her. If she wanted to kiss him, Claire would have to be the one to do so.


	6. Chapter 6

The silence invading her condo was more deadly than lately, maybe it was the feeling of having her heart completely sank in the bottom of her stomach what made it impossible to bare. Claire sighed the moment she opened the door and immediately slipped out of her heels. She would usually carry them with her over to her closet and set them neatly in their place, but that night she didn't have energy to care.

She could feel her head spinning around, the confusion that took over her mind made her feel like throwing up and want to cry simultaneously. It was a painful stab in her heart what had her be almost completely disconnected with her surroundings. For the first time in weeks, and even in her life, she knew how a heartbreak felt like.

The gentle steps she took in her dark place guided her over to her bedroom. The time on the alarm clock facing the door reading it was already one in the morning. She almost robotically went looking for that one shirt she had found the other day. She changed into it and crawled under the sheets and covers of her cold bed.

Claire didn't know how long it had been, but it felt like an eternity. She was facing the ceiling and her index finger kept twirling a strand of her long hair. She frowned at the silence. She was no stranger to that insufferable sense of finding it impossible to sleep, but for the past two years or so she had found comfort in Owen's snoring. She found peace in it and it helped her sleep, knowing he was there for her.

At the beginning of their relationship, she had found it annoying — she'd nudge him so he could shift and stop it, if it was to insistent then she'd hit him with her pillow. With time, the sound of his snores became a source of relaxation, the equivalent to those nature sounds some people played in the background to ease their mind.

By the end, she would smile in the dark hearing him asleep and snoring loud. She'd happily snuggle close, her head on his chest hearing them synchronized with the beat of his heart; she'd fall asleep without realizing it.

The redhead sat on her bed and unplugged her iPhone from the charger. It was ten after one. Had it really been just a few minutes? This was going to be a long night. Claire tucked her hair behind her ears and dialed up. She rested her phone against her ear and felt more anxious and nervous with each ring it called.

A part of her wanted to just hang up, but then again the missed call would be on display. The thought of voice mail picking up wasn't that bad either, she could just say something brief and stupid — make a fool out of herself after the beep instead. Because yes, she had no idea why she was calling or what to say. She was only sure about one thing;

She needed to hear his voice.

Claire sighed and rubbed her face with her free hand. She could feel her heart beating fast against her chest while a million things went through her head, her stomach making her feel sick.

"Hey~" She almost didn't manage to speak, her other hand on her stomach as she felt her heart abruptly skip a beat at the sound of his voice on the other end of the call. "I'm—I'm sorry I'm calling so late." She closed her eyes, he was probably asleep.

Just like her, Owen hadn't been sleeping too well either. He missed the warm of her body against him and that sweet scent of vanilla in the air. The way her red hair felt on his face and the gentle scent of her shampoo. He couldn't get comfortable in that double bed in his van. It didn't matter how he lied, there was always an empty space beside him. He would grab her pillow and hug it. He was glad none of the things around him would judge him. At first he tended to nose into it and take in her scent, but even that had vanished.

Owen had been lying on his side, staring at the wall of his van wondering back to the way things were, how things would be if he hadn't left her there — if he had fought for them. "You don't have to apologize, you know you can call me any time; it's always been like that."

His reassurance made her close her eyes and nod softly to herself, "did I wake you up?" She wondered with concern.

Owen adjusted and sat on the bed. He grabbed her pillow and rested it on his lap, "Are you okay?" He avoided her question on purpose, too proud to admit he couldn't sleep without her. It was late, so he was worried maybe she needed some help.

The redhead chuckled softly and shook her head, "as in if I'm safe and out of danger, yes, I'm okay." She rubbed her forehead at that confession. She sometimes felt like this kind of things flew over his head and right now she was wishing it was that way.

Truth was, he always caught on them but only reacted or acknowledge to her words when he felt like it; a little jerk of him to do but that's who he was. "Alright." Right now was an example of him understanding what she meant, realizing she wasn't okay but pretending he didn't know that.

Silence grew between them and even if neither could figure out a way to fill it, they still didn't want the call to end.

"How was your day?" She asked. She hated small talk, but it was the only thing she could think of to keep the call going. Maybe it would help them get comfortable with each other and turn this into a meaningful conversation.

"Yeah. Yeah." He nodded before clearing his throat and running his fingers through his messy hair, "I made a fire."

"Yeah?"

"And I carved you something, too..." He added, his arm reached out to the piece he had worked all afternoon on.

Claire smiled softly, her eyes immediately moved over to the music box he had singlehandedly carved for her birthday once. She reached out and turned it upside down to make it play the little melody it had, "you did?" Her voice unintentionally broke a little. "Wh-What did you carve me?" She teared up a little at the realization that he had been thinking about her all afternoon while working on that.

"A penguin." He frowned noticing the change in her voice. "You are my penguin, so I—"

Claire looked up and had to brush some of the quiet tears off before they rolled down her cheeks. She didn't say anything, but a light sobbing sound escaped from her lips at his statement.

"How was your day?"

Claire sighed and sniffed softly before shaking her head, "I don't want to talk about my day." She confessed, out of feeling guilty and horrible in a way.

They knew each other too well for that request to go unobserved by Owen, if she didn't want to talk about it; then he didn't want to know. "Okay, What are you wearing?" He asked in an attempt to make her laugh and change the subject.

The redhead chuckled.

Owen smiled to himself hearing her, he missed the sound of her laugh as much as he had missed the sound of her voice, maybe more.

She sighed and could feel her cheeks warm, "do you want the truth or do you want me to say something else~"

"I want the one where you are naked." He chuckled.

Claire was quiet for a second, she adjusted and rested on her side, keeping the phone against her ear, "I'm wearing your blue flannel." She confessed with a soft murmur, letting him know how much she missed him without confessing it. "And nothing more." She added after a second, trying to distract him from her previous statement.

"I hug your pillow at night." He immediately admitted taking advantage of the moment, "nothing more? Not even a cute pair of panties?" He added playfully, following the game they had started, overshadowing their true feelings with something sexy and funny.

Claire smiled at the thought of Owen hugging a pillow, "I miss your snoring." She had never told him how much she loved it, she was always complaining about it. "I was~but not anymore..." she said about her panties.

Owen's jaw hit the floor, he cleared his throat and had to take a couple of seconds, "Are you just saying that so I forget you like my snoring or did you really just took them off?" He tried not to choke while repeating that.

"I guess you'll never know~" She teased him before she frowned and got serious for a moment. "I—I miss you."

"I miss you too, babe."

She felt her heart shattering hearing him call her that. She really didn't know if it was possible for this to get worse.

"I hate it when we fight." He added.

Guess it did, it could get worse and more painful, "is that what you really think this is? That we are...were fighting?" She tried to control her voice from breaking this time.

"Well yeah, I mean...I know we have fought before but never for this long. It always takes us just a couple of days max to reach out and made up." He recalled.

Claire wanted to cry and the way she was breathing heavily gave her away. She was fighting the urge to hang up and just drawn in her tears at this point. How absurd was it that they couldn't even be on the same page about something like this? About the nature, the reality of their relationship.

"What else would this be?" He wondered when she went quiet for more than a few seconds. "Is that what you called for?" He sounded scared, the sound of his heart breaking in his voice.

"No." She assured him.

"Did you call to break up with me?" He sounded offended. He was upset, really smooth of her to call at one fucking am to break up things with him. "Because of that thing you don't want to talk about?" He was not stupid, he knew her better than she thought.

"Owen, no!" She cried. "I didn't call to break up with you." She had decided to go his way; they hadn't broken up. It made her feel worse given how she had spent her day and how it had ended, but it also gave her hope...hope that they could fix this.

"What did you call for, then?" He demanded to know.

"Because I missed you, because—" She finally let him hear her crying, she was on her back once again. "Because I—" She covered her eyes with her hand.

"Say it, Claire."

"Nothing happened." She assured him once she knew he had read through her even over the phone and was probably going crazy imagining many things.

A sigh of relief was heard on the other end of the call.

"—but it almost did." She confessed. "And it made me realize that I don't want anyone else."

She waited for him to talk but he never did. In her mind they had broken up, but she could understand why this made him upset and hurt him since he was positive they were just fighting.

"Say something..." She begged.

"It's late."

"Owen~"

"You should go to bed, you have work in a few hours." He had this feeling of disgust while saying that; the thought of whomever that guy was being there in the morning close to her. He wanted to strangle a bitch.

"No. You—we can't end the call like this." She begged.

"Are you still wearing panties?" He asked.

"Yes." She admitted, she had never taken them off.

"Hmm." He was disappointed.

"Please~"

"It's late." He insisted.

"I don't care." She shook her head.

"I'll text you later." He offered. She should know better to let him process this. After all, he hadn't been there and was picturing something completely heartbreaking — more than the real scenario already was.

She grew quiet. This could be worse, he could be asking questions.

"Goodnight, beautiful."

"Goodnight, handsome."

Both went quiet but neither of them dared hang up the call. They just stood there, with the phone against their air, listening to the other one breathe until that faint sound in the distance — one they once had by their side, grew to be enough for both of them to find some sleep.

The sound of his snoring loud on her end of the call. One that she might have been asleep to notice, but was enough for her subconscious to let her have some rest, even if only for a few hours.


	7. Chapter 7

Claire Dearing was a strong independent woman, she never needed the help of a man to get things done. She'd put herself out there and have competed in the big leagues against the opposite sex since she could remember, she would not only impress those watching but also beat them all and come on top — and she'd do this while wearing heels.

She didn't need a man to change a burnt lightbulb or a flat tire. She didn't need anyone's help to open a jar or kill a cockroach. At least not until she met Owen and saw how good he looked doing these things for her; how his muscles stretched while working on fixing a new frame for her against the wall, how his ass look the best when bent down while checking the oil level of her car, and how his shirtless chest would sweat when helping her move furniture around the house.

Claire's deep feelings for Owen grew from an intense sexual attraction she had felt for him since the moment they met, and she was positive this one would never fade. The redhead was in love with him for many reasons that sometimes she even questioned; he was a jerk and a clueless punk. She could have been mad at him and hurt by his way of thinking, but that abdomen would never be blamed for his actions and will always have her affection.

She was resting her elbow on her desk, her head tilted over her fist while her green eyes were lost watching that man standing on a ladder fix those rusty doors for her. Claire was smiling from her place, observing how he would scratch the back of his head and work around.

The elevator was always giving them that insufferable malfunction. Since the day she had let the landlord show her the place, the door had gotten stuck not even half way into opening. It was the only place Claire had thought she could afford and Owen had quickly jumped in and offered to fix it. This was something he didn't know he would have to be doing every few weeks, but he didn't complain.

Each time he did, that beautiful redhead would find herself lost in his presence. He loved the way her eyes sparkled letting him know she was not only enjoying watching him do some physical work but also loving the fact that he made sure she got all she needed.

The last time he had fixed them was before their infamous road trip. He had driven to San Francisco to see her and surprise her. It had been a couple of days since their phone call and the urge to take in her beauty and just see her was unbearable to him, so he had found himself driving for almost four hours to ease it.

He had gotten into that elevator just to have the doors getting stuck on him once he reached her floor. It had been fifteen minutes since he had made it and slowly was working on having them fixed.

They had the elevator out of service while Owen worked on it. The man had been humming a melody that was too familiar for Claire, he did it unconsciously but the redhead loved it and it had even become a thing between them. It was the same melody he hummed and sang to himself each time he was fixing or building something for her. It was the same melody in the music box he had carved for her birthday. He stepped inside the elevator and positioned his ladder right in the middle so he could reach both doors. His hazel eyes looked up and he immediately smiled back at the woman observing him from a far.

Claire caught him smiling and blushed lightly. She sighed, her other hand playing with a pen over her desk. They exchanged a smile that lasted a couple of seconds before he stepped onto the ladder and went back to work.

The place was busy, people were walking around holding posters and all sorts of material while they kept getting ready for those rally they had scheduled for the next couple of days.

Many voices were speaking at the same time, each person engaging in different conversations simultaneously. But for the couple, nothing but their eyes and the flirty smile they shared existed.

Owen didn't fully manage to concentrate on his task until Claire had been pulled away from her day dream so she could approve some of the finished material and an update on their website. It took him five more minutes to have the doors finally open and close smoothly without getting stuck.

He cleaned the elevator so it could go back on service. He cleaned the grease off his fingers and started to put every tool he used back into the toolbox Claire had there. He knew things had their own place and an specific order so it took him a few minutes to leave it the way he had found it.

The elevator had been called down and was now back up, the doors perfectly sliding open. Owen had turned around to watch them perform, a proud smile in his face seeing them go all the way. He nodded to the young brunette man stepping off of it.

Blue eyes immediately smiled at the sight of Claire who was standing in the other side of the room. Owen tilted his head, hazel eyes following the guy's. It didn't take him long to realize who that was. He was way too familiar with the way those curves made a man stare a little longer for it to go unnoticed.

Owen wouldn't be able to tell what had possessed him and in that moment he didn't care. He just knew that man had almost taken what belong to him and for that, his fist was acting faster than his brain or any other muscle in him.

It was the noice of things being knocked down onto the floor along with the sound of the guy's weight stumbling backwards against the wall what made that room finally go dead silence. All eyes on Owen while he shook his hand and checked his knuckles.

Two of the guys and Claire rushed over. The men to help Jackson and make sure he was okay, the redhead over to Owen to stop him from jumping on the guy and end up killing him if possible.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Claire was upset and it was taking a lot of her strength to hold Owen back. It seemed one punch in the face was not enough.

"He touched you and I'll break his nose for that!" He said pushing against her, his hazel eyes terrifying her.

"I TOLD YOU, nothing happened." She insisted before taking his hand and calling the elevator to open. "I'll be right back." She let the two other guys know before she stepped in with Owen and headed down.

* * *

Claire's legs were gently tangled with Owen's, her arms holding him close, and her head hidden in the crook of his neck while he lied beside her, smiling down watching her sleep, his fingers brushing her long red hair. They were on his bed inside his van. They had gotten in it after leaving the building and gotten comfortable on the bed to cuddle and just calm down before they could talk.

They hadn't had time to say a word, the redhead had slowly faded out once his arms wrapped her in a warm embrace. She hadn't been able to sleep in weeks and her body had just given in.

It wasn't until an hour and a half later when Claire slowly opened her eyes, her ears taking on that tender melody. She frowned, for the first time it sounded sad. He always made up lyrics to it, sometimes he murmured them too quietly for her to make out what he was singing but she knew he was saying something.

She adjusted announcing she was up, he pushed her bangs back to see her face. Claire shifted and brushed her eyes with her fingers before resting her head back on his chest.

Owen was quiet, a soft smile letting her know he was happy to have her in his arms again. Once again they were in an opposite side of the situation; he was happy that his fingers could feel the softness of her hair and he could take in the scent of her vanilla lotion, she was feeling how her heart was breaking while feeling his warmth around her ...already dreading the cold that it would hit her that night once she was back to living without it.

"You look beautiful." He offered, feeling her silent tears leaving a small puddle in his shirt.

"I can't believe you came." She sniffed, nosing into the wet spot in his shirt.

"I needed to see you~and..." He carefully reached out, trying not to disturb her. He fetched for the carved penguin he had finally finished. "I needed to give you this." He gently brought it to her.

Her freckled fingers softly reached out and curved around it. She smiled and hugged it, keeping it close while still resting against his chest. "I love it." She sniffed.

"Did you manage to rest, babe?" He tilted his head, his fingers gently brushing up and down her freckled arm.

She nodded softly against his chest, closing her eyes feeling his thumb gently drying the little tears on her cheek, "He can press charges you know?" She murmured, finally bringing up the subject about his stupid decision to punch that guy in the face.

"He won't."

"How do you know that?" Claire adjusted so she could lock her eyes on his.

"Because it would make him look like a wuss. It'd be petty and it would shorten the possibility of getting with you." He shrugged.

Claire shook her head, her lips taking some sort of life of their own while kissing his chest softly and up to his neck where she nosed tenderly before releasing a sigh.

"If that poor man's John Stamos gets anywhere near you again, I'm going to kill him." Owen warned calmly. He had no problem on displaying how possessive of her he was.

Claire laughed, "How do you know who John Stamos is?" She kissed his neck a couple of times before her hands also took a life of their own (or maybe it was that him getting possessive turned her on) and slid up his chest under his shirt. "I'm only into one man, and one man only~" She moaned against his ear.

"I will fucking kill him." He insisted before abruptly pinning her against the mattress on her back. He brushed his lips around her neck and started to leave gentle kisses along her creamy skin, "You are mine...understood?"

Claire nodded softly and pushed his hair back, her green eyes fixed on his hazel ones. She could tell this was not a joke for him. She had never seen his eyes more serious and determined on something before.

"Say it." He demanded while kissing her jawline and brushing his lips against hers.

"I'm yours." She murmured closing her eyes feeling his hands traveling up her abdomen under her top. She trembled under his touch, she missed him so much.

Owen groaned and adjusted on top of her, his lips gently peppering the side of her neck, his fingers inching closer seeking for her breasts.

"Owen—" She gulped, she knew they had a lot to talk about, a lot to fix, so many things they had to work on before even think about starting to go there. She tried to talk, but all her lips were able to let out was a moan as she felt his hands cupping her breasts.

"Lets put an end to this fight, please." He begged. "Can we please make up?" He sobbed against her neck.

Claire wanted to agree to that so bad, she wanted to kiss his lips and let him taste how much she loved him while their tongues danced slowly. She sighed, "if you could change one thing from then to prevent the fight...what would it be?" She asked him, meaning their road trip.

What kind of question was that? He didn't even know how to answer, but she wouldn't be asking if it weren't important to her, a crucial piece to them getting back together. Owen thought about those last couple of days he had had with her, he truthfully didn't understand where things had gone wrong. They were always fighting, but somehow things had been blown out of proportion this time around.

"Lets say things we are sorry for..." She decided to change the question. She knew she had a few things she wanted to apologize for, little things that ultimately contributed to everything blowing up.

"I think you are mad at me because I left you at that motel, I shouldn't have left." He offered. "I'm sorry I did."

She shook her head and kissed his forehead, "You were an ass for leaving like that." She chuckled, "but I wanted you to just fuck off." She pursed her lips. "I'm sorry I made you pee your pants." She started laughing, "that was really uncalled for."

Owen laughed and adjusted on his side so they could get comfortable on the bed. She shifted and rested on her side as well, facing him. "I deserved that." He nodded.

"I'm sorry I made fun of your itinerary. That always comes back and bite me in the ass and we end up wasting all this time." He frowned, referring to how something similar went down on their first date.

Claire smiled, she was glad that he was going along with this but it was only making her realize that even if they wouldn't have done all those things, she would still have broken up with him... or like Owen thought of it; they would still be fighting. It didn't matter if he had followed her suggestion from the moment they left home, or if he had stopped for a restroom break. It didn't matter if he would have let her help set up the campfire and if there were no rats living in his van.

"Hold me?" She asked softly before turning around, her back on him.

Owen nodded and spooned her gently. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nosed into the crook of her neck. The redhead caressed his arm and pressed a couple of kisses on his shoulder.

Even if little things put together made a big one; the problem was in their mindset and not only on how different it was but how opposite. The redhead frowned, this realization was heartbreaking.


	8. Chapter 8

Her tears were being washed off by the hot water falling from the shower, barely rolling down her cheeks before they vanished. Claire was sobbing into her hands trying to keep it quiet so the man in her bedroom couldn't hear her. How did she have ended up here? She had been so careful and kept her mind alert and her heart on check for the past week.

There were many reasons why rebound sex was a terrible idea; not just because the other party would be used for nothing but to make you feel better about your emotional distress, but because once over your mind would remind you that you weren't fooling anyone...that forty-five minutes of pleasure and break from your current hurt only added baggage.

The redhead probably had the best sex of her life that night, so intense and emotionally engaging that just one round hadn't been enough to release all those things she was still feeling, but yet by the end of it she felt empty.

It took her fifteen minutes to try release the pain her heartache was causing inside of her while she cried alone under the water, another ten to shower, and ten more to try clean her face and wait until her green eyes calmed down and wouldn't give her away — after all, Owen knew every inch of her face and every freckle. He would know right away that she had been uncomfortably crying for the past half an hour.

She had grabbed a pair of black and grey pajama pants and a grey tank top before she headed to the bathroom, avoiding to come out and have to change in front of him after done with her supposed shower.

Claire sighed and tried to take a deep breath while she dried her body, she could hear the television through the door. She used her towel to dry her long red hair, not bothering with the dryer. It was still humid by the time she came out.

She frowned noticing Owen had already fallen asleep, her navy blue cotton sheet up to his waist, he was still naked under it. There was nothing in the world she wanted the most than to have this picture be part of her life again; be part of a world where he would be in bed watching television and she'd come back from a shower or from brushing her teeth and slip in bed next to him. She missed his strong arms holding her in a warm embrace making her feel safe, she missed his tender kisses assuring her that she was the only one for him.

What hurt the most was that he was asleep in her bed after a couple of hours of intimate passion and yet she didn't really have any of this, she knew that the moment she crawled in bed he would immediately reach for her, but at some point he would have to leave and they would be back to square one.

The redhead walked around the bed and slowly slipped under her sheets. She gulped and quietly reached out for the remote in his hand, she took it and turned the television off. Claire felt his hand caressing her knee as she placed the remote on the nightstand beside her.

Her green eyes looked down, watching his fingers massaging her lap before she moved them up to find him smiling sleepily her way. She faintly returned the gesture, Owen sighed and shifting, he hugged her waist with both his arms and rested his head on her belly, "I'm glad we made up" He mumbled, nosing into her abdomen and planting a couple of kisses on it.

Claire frowned with a light pout on her lips, she shook her head gently and allowed her fingers to brush through his hair, "tonight was—"

"The best sex we have ever had..." He cut her off to finish that line for her. That wasn't exactly what the redhead was going to say, and it didn't really move things forward either. "We should fight more often so we can have make up sex." He chuckled.

"I hate fighting." She murmured. She didn't appreciate his joke, specially because to her things weren't resolved and they were still broken up. Maybe saying out loud that she didn't want to fight was more for her than for him, so she could let the joke die down without turning it into a conflict — one that wasn't even necessary or worth it.

Owen snorted and adjusting, he lied on his back, bringing her close and keeping his arms wrapped around her. His fingers found their way through her hair and gently brushed it. "You shouldn't go to bed with your hair still wet, babe..." He suggested, pressing his lips on her forehead. "Why didn't you use the hair dryer?" He wondered, his fingers still gently playing with her hair. The feeling relaxed her, she closed her eyes and breathed slowly, her arms clang to his chest like a baby koala to its mother.

"I don't know..." She mumbled. "I guess I didn't want to lose time doing it when I could be here feeling you hold me." She teared up, sobbing before he could tell. It was true, she felt they had their time limited and she could feel each second that passed by shattering her heart.

Owen frowned, she said that like they wouldn't cuddle ever again and this was the last time they would ever be this intimate. "I can always come back tomorrow and hold you all night." He offered, it was a four hour drive, but he would sail from ocean to ocean for her.

"And what happens after that?" She frowned, Claire envied him. She had her mind set in an all or nothing kind of way and he could be happy for as long as he could hold her and kiss her.

"I hold you close the following night also, every night, each night you want me to." He promised. It was clear to the redhead that he had decided to ignore the elephant in the room, let their problems and the root of their break-up be drowned under countless nights of cuddles.

"How long until you have to leave?" Claire wondered, he had already said he couldn't stay that night over. He had insisted he wanted to see her, talking over the phone and texting didn't do for him anymore. He missed her scent and her laugh, so he had driven four hours so they could spend the afternoon together.

It didn't take them long to let their repressed emotional tension take the best of them and that's how they had ended up in her bed, making love. The earliest stage of their love story was after all sexual. Neither of them could deny the intense passion between them, that physical attraction that had them sleeping together for a while before trying to take a step forward and go on a date that had ended highlighting nothing but a list of reasons why they shouldn't be romantically involved. A list that was still coming back and bitting her in the ass, it upset her because she was now in love and she didn't want to give up on him — Owen was the love of her life and love wasn't supposed to be tragic. She was positive she was meant to be with him, and that's why she was determined to fight for them but she also knew they couldn't do that if they kept going around their issues instead of through them.

"Until I'm sure you are asleep." He promised. He had work early the next morning, he had agreed to build a gazebo for someone that following day. They had already paid him half in advance, if it weren't for that he would have cancelled and spent the night protecting her like he always did.

Claire nodded, "I don't want to wake up without you." She confessed, sliding closer and nosing into his neck.

"I don't want to live without you." He added, he could do for one morning if it meant he would get to spend the rest of his days with her.

The redhead tilted her head up and let her green eyes fall on his, she wanted to promise him that he didn't have to, that she would forever be there by his side, but she couldn't. Not because she didn't want to, but because in that moment her heart ached for the reassurance that it would be this way. She brushed her lips against his and closed her eyes, letting him kiss her. A kiss that started with them gently tasting each other's mutual love, his hand slowly sliding under her tank top, letting his fingertips feel the warm skin under it.

She was the one to allow the tip of her tongue to poke out and slide into his mouth, inching between his lips and finding his tongue so they could kiss deeper. Claire moaned before pulling back and resting her head back against him.

They both went quiet from there, she had shifted and got comfortable letting him spoon her. By the time she had managed to fall asleep, his one arm was under her neck, their fingers intertwined with her one hand. His other arm hugging her with his hand keeping their fingers laced while holding hers over her chest. She was facing the window of her bedroom, Owen had pulled the blinds close back when she had gotten in the shower.

He had snoozed out for about an hour, his nose taking the scent of her shampoo. Owen slowly opened his eyes and quietly let go of her hands before he could pull his arm back. He looked over to make sure the redhead was still asleep and kissed her forehead lovingly, a soft moan unconsciously escaping from her. The man successfully managed to get out of bed before gathering all his clothes and getting dressed.

He watched her sleep from the door of her bedroom for a couple of seconds and frowned, this was as hard and painful for him as it was for her. He just felt he needed to be strong for her, so she could believe that one day things would go back to be the way they used to. Owen loved her more than anything, and was determined to figure out a way to prove to her that he was worth a fight.

Claire opened her eyes once she felt that dreadful cold invading her bed and stealing the warmth he had left behind. She teared up, hearing him walk out of her house.

A few minutes later, the screen of her iPhone lit up. She sniffed and wiped her tears with the pads of her fingers before reaching for her cellphone. It was a text from him, one he had sent from his van before starting it up and drive back home,

"I still love you in the morning."


	9. Chapter 9

Ignoring their problems and burying them under sex was not what Claire wanted to do this time around, but once her heart found comfort in his arms and she rested her head on his naked chest, she couldn't go back. She needed that hint of hope and that second of emotional fulfillment to have some peace of mind.

It had been a couple of months since the night back in her apartment, since that time she let herself cross the line.

Distance kept them from spending every night together, but the determination she saw in his eyes to travel back and forth didn't help when trying to put a stop to this. There were times when it felt like he was courting her all over again, it made her heart ache.

Life sometimes got busy and they went days without talking. It was funny how they could text all day and talk all night but when things got real for a moment, they avoided going further. They were playing in gasoline — if either of them were to light a match; it would all blew up.

It had been a long day for Claire and the only place she knew she could relax and relieve the headache hammering inside was his embrace. She had texted asking if she could come over, Owen happy that she was reaching out first this time, sent her his location.

Owen had gotten a piece of land in Sierra Nevada Mountains about four hours away from San Francisco. This was his favorite kind of place, that refreshing cold blowing through the mountains that always called for a camp fire, hot cocoa, and toasted marshmallows. A lake near by was a plus, so he could go fishing and just added that extra touch to the view.

They had spent that first winter after leaving Nublar there, Owen had talked her into renting a place deep in the woods. They called that cabin home for a couple months. Perhaps, the most difficult ones in their lives. They both were strong, but that didn't mean there weren't repercussions they had to overcome after spending the longest day of their lives being chased by a hybrid predator.

They had fallen in love in Sierra Nevada, their bond had grown stronger there. They learned to live with each other and be there for one another in that cabin. They had spent many nights by a campfire, tightly snuggled under a blanket, talking about how one day they could build a cabin of their own. The only thing that seemed to keep them from losing their minds was making plans of how to live a happy life. She was his happy place, and so he was determined to give her all she ever wished for.

They had learn to love and grow in Sierra Nevada, he knew that place would bring them back to each other once again. Why did they have to battle their problems apart when they had proven for the past three years that they were unbeatable together?

Today was the night, Owen knew it would take Claire at least four hours to drive over to their new place. He was planning to share with her the next phase he had planned for them. How that piece of land in front of the lake, hugged by the mountains was now the nest of the rest of their lives. How they could start rebuilding their future one nail at the time.

By the time Claire made it to the location, it was already dark. He had kept that in mind since she found a candlelight path offering to take her to where she was required to be. She walked along, slowly looking around. The sound of crickets surrounding her. His van was parked in the middle of the piece of land he had brought her to.

The redhead took a deep breath and gulped softly, her heels taking one step at a time over the dusty ground. He was waiting for her in his van, the interior roof lights on so she could know he was home.

By the time he slowly pulled the door opened, she was already tearing but, her hand against her chest, "what's all this?" She softly asked, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

"This is home." He offered.

Claire never thought possible that something could be so beautiful and reassuring but yet so heartbreaking. She gulped and nodded her head, the redhead slowly reached out so he could guide her into the van.

"Do you like it?" He wondered after letting her silence fill the place. Owen followed her to the bed where she pulled him close. She dropped her heels onto the ground and slowly lied on the bed, letting her eyes invite him to hold her and consummate this little moment.

* * *

The best feeling in the world was the one of her heart peacefully beating next to his with her sleeping in his arms. His fingers were gentle through her red sweaty hair, her body still warm and blushed after their intense love making session. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead; this was everything he wanted in the world, to hold her close.

"I love you~" She murmured, nosing into the crook of his neck after slowly waking up. "I want to be with you..." She sobbed.

Owen smiled and kissed her naked shoulder a couple of times, "I got this place so we can start over, be together." He agreed, "tell me you are staying and never leaving." He tenderly begged. He had never in his life opened up so intensely, but she was able to rip his heart apart every time she walked away and he was done playing games.

"Do you remember what we were fighting about?" She casually asked, intentionally using his choice of words. They were always fighting and sometimes it was over the silliest of things. They always went back to normal after an hour, forgetting what the whole thing was all about.

Owen had handed her the match by asking her to stay, addressing the reality that things weren't in healthy good terms, something they had been ignoring for the past few weeks. Claire immediately lite it up, directly acknowledging their fight.

It was now a matter of time before they blew up.

The redhead knew this was getting out of hand. It was now or never, they wouldn't get anywhere unless they talked and so she was gently looking into his eyes, her fingers brushing his light hair. She didn't want to fight, she was calmed. She just needed to fix things, and for that they both needed to be on the same page for once.

"Because we want different things—but we don't!" He immediately reassured her. He cupped her cheeks and pecked her lips lovingly. "We both want to be together and we both love each other." He explained.

"We do~" She nodded softly, resting her forehead against his. "We want the same things ...done differently." She gulped, finally admitting their issue out loud. Owen frowned listening, "I want to go west and you want to go east." She looked down. "when both paths will lead us there." She frowned.

"Is this because of that one day?" He pulled back a little annoyed that she hadn't been able to let go of that yet, it had been months ago and it had just been a stupid tease.

"No. No." She curled closer, her fingers brining his face back near her. "It's not about that. I don't care about that, not anymore." She assured him.

Owen nodded and still with a frown kissed her forehead gently. "We both want this, remember? We used to talk about living together...here." He smiled.

"Yeah, then you got your van so you could travel around and I got my condo and went back to work." Claire lightly pointed out, for him to see where their paths went different ways, both parting from the one thing the two of them wanted to do.

Owen wanted to promise he was not going anywhere. He had tried that after they went separate ways and the whole appeal had lost its spark. He parted his lips to suggest she drove back and forth from work every day; he wasn't asking for her to give that up, but she spoke first. The gasoline spread around them threatening to catch fire and explode.

Claire was willing to sacrifice many things for him. She had lost everything back in Nublar and he was the rock that had helped her through it all. The one she relied on and gave her the strength to stand tall and redeem herself. She would give her life for him, but she would never be able to live happy feeling like a passenger.

She was a driver just like him, but Owen had taught her to be a team player in many ways. It was just a matter for them to learn to co-lead, "I want to live in a place that's ours, and this van isn't it." She released a sigh, she felt the heavy weight of that harsh confession leaving her.

"What is wrong with my van?" Owen once again pulled back, he was tired of her dismissive attitude towards it. He loved his van and she should respect that. "I don't care for your Dinosaurs Fans Club and you don't see me saying shit about it!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" She pushed him away from her and sat up on _his_ bed. She fetched for her underwear and started getting dressed. It was late and Claire would probably make it back to _her_ home until after midnight, but in this moment she didn't care. She didn't want to be near him.

"What is wrong with me!?" He snorted, pulling his boxers back on.

"Fuck you for that, Owen!" She zipped her skirt and started buttoning her blouse. "And you know what's wrong with your shitty van? That it's YOUR van. That you won't even let me drive this mice infested old tin. That you want me to be here and play house with you, but it's _your_ toy so I only get to watch." She rubbed her forehead and shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore, I'm done."

Claire stared looking for her heels and eventually found them next to a pile of laundry. She started throwing each and every single pair of jeans and shirt at him, hitting him in the face with them.

"What the fuck!?" He kept covering his face with his arms, she was strong.

"I hope YOU and YOUR filthy van are happy together!" She added after slipping her heels back on and slammed the door behind her.

Outside, only half of the candle path still weakly glowing against the cold mountain wind.

She got into her car and looked over one last time before driving off, the candlelight left behind blown completely out.


End file.
